1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a power plant mounting structure for mounting a power plant in an automotive vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, mounts for a power plant used with an automotive vehicle are positioned on points in the inertial axes of the power plant on both sides of the power train. Such a placement of the power plant mounts is described in, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-226429.
The placement of power plant mounts on the inertial axes on both sides of the power plant is effective in reducing rolling and vibrations, attributable to resonance of the power plant as a rigid body during engine idling, of the power plant. However, with a power plant layout in which an engine and an transmission are placed in parallel, the power plant is subjected to so-called power plant bending (PPB) vibrations in a twisting mode and a fluctuation mode, which cause a confined or buzzing sound or noise within the vehicle compartment. Such a confined or buzzing noise cannot be eliminated by simply placing the mounts on the primary inertial axes of the power plant.